Curriculum Specialist
Curriculum Studies Courses: 16 quarter hours (4 courses) required, grade of C or better required
Individualized Plan
Individualized Plan Courses: 16 quarter hours (4 courses) required, grade of C or better required
- Choose four courses per faculty approval
These courses should be a set of carefully chosen electives to support the student’s career goals. A student may elect to take a sequence of courses approved for Curriculum Studies students or plan an individual sequence in consultation with his or her advisor. A student pursuing an individually designed career emphasis sequence must write a rationale for the sequence which, when approved, will be placed in his/her file.
CS 472
ETHICS, CURRICULUM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Explores some major issues impacting curriculum, including cultural and socioeconomic factors, legal issues, conflicting values, pressures for assessment, and the push to include technology. Examines the historical development and current state of education in the U.S. as compared to education in other cultures. Emphasis on ways that educators can work as change agents within the competing demands of these forces.
CS 473
ASSESSMENT
Explores current theory and practice regarding alternate forms of assessment, including formal, standardized, and informal tests and inventories; selection, evaluation, and interpretation of tests used in educational settings; portfolio assessment, video performances, and presentations; preparation and use of teacher-made tests; evaluating outcomes; and utilizing data to improve instruction. The critical examination of multiple perspectives of assessment theories, policies and practices center around the emphasis on developing strategies to evaluate student progress.
CS 481
THE STUDY OF TEACHERS AND TEACHING
A selective survey and analysis of research on teachers and teaching. Particular emphasis will be placed on the assumptions which are built into various forms of research and the effect these assumptions have on how results should be interpreted and used in supervision and curriculum development. Each student will be expected to become familiar with alternative ways of studying teachers and the teaching process in his/her area of expertise. While many school settings will be utilized because of the many studies done in this area, research in non-school settings will be given a good deal of emphasis.
CS 492
CREATING AND SUSTAINING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
This course will provide the framework for the creation, development and sustainability of a professional learning community. Professional learning communities have at their core three guiding principles: 1) a focus on learning, 2) the creation of a collaborative culture and 3) a results-orientation. Within the professional learning community, members are committed to working collaboratively in an ongoing process of collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for the students and community they serve. Professional Learning Communities operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous, job-embedded learning for educators.